The Truth Hurts
by DreamingChild
Summary: Ryou and Bakura are in love... or are they? Ryou needs to figure out what his relationship with his Yami is... and fast! He's after Yami Yugi. Yaoi (Male Homosexuality) Rated for graphic situations.
1. Stirrings

_A.N. Hey, this is my first fanfic. Hope you enjoy!_   
  
  


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**The Truth Hurts**   
  
**Chapter 1: Stirrings**

Ryou laid back in the arms of his lover, their backs propped up against a tree in the park. The day was so fresh. A gentle breeze blew through the two young boys' hair, intermingling the silken, silver strands. Children ran around in the grass, playing freeze tag, while young mothers and fathers sat on benches, watchful eyes on their charges. Ryou had never felt so good in his life. He felt the arms around him tighten, as a gentle kiss was placed on the back of his neck. He felt like flying. In a way, Ryou was almost fearful, thinking that this may almost be too good... too good to be true. As if in answer, the young man behind him began to speak. 

"Ryou," he said gently, "I don't know if I've ever felt like this before." He buried his face into Ryou's neck. "I'm... I'm afraid." 

Ryou's mind gently played back images of the night before. He'd been making dinner for Bakura and himself, to commemorate the sixth year since the two friends had met. Ryou suddenly cut himself with the chef's knife. The cut was deep, and he yelped and let out a groan of pain. Yami was in the living room, playing with the busted air conditioner, trying to get it to work. He was in the middle of cussing at it when he heard Ryou's cry. At that, he dropped what he was doing, and ran to the kitchen. 

"Ryou, what happened?" He looked at his host's finger, bleeding, wrapped in a napkin. "Here, let me see that." He took Ryou's hand and unwrapped the paper. He took him to the sink and washed his bloody hand. The bleeding was begining to subside. "Here hikari, keep pressure on this, and lets go upstairs and clean it up." They went to the bathroom, and Bakura pulled out cotton pads and hydrogen peroxide. Ryou winced at the sight of the liquid. 

"Will that hurt?" he asked. 

"No, silly, it's just like water. Don't worry about it." Ryou then extended his finger, looking away as Bakura cleaned it with the peroxide. "See, that didn't hurt, did it?" 

Ryou thought about that, and shook his head. No, it didn't hurt. It was like this so many times. The ring's spirit, actually many millenia old, appeared only slightly older than Ryou, with jaded eyes a shade darker than his. He'd helped Ryou out of trouble so often that he couldn't count it on ten fingers anymore. There were those kids who called him a faggot, and tried to beat him to a bloody pulp, and then there was that disgusting janitor at school, the one who actually had tried to pull Ryou into the storage room and... 

"Here, lets put this bandage on." Bakura took Ryou's hand again and wrapped the plastic strip around his pointer finger. "Good thing it's the left hand, huh?" Ryou was a righty. Bakura still hadn't let go of his hand. Ryou was begining to feel a little warm, and flushed a bit as he looked up at his yami. Bakura looked straight into his eyes. His eyes were jaded, it's true, but there was something in them now, some warmth that Ryou hadn't seen before. Bakura put his other hand on Ryou's as well, trapping it between his. 'This feels nice,' thought Ryou, and felt his blush. "Ryou. I can't believe that I've been here with you for six years now. I...I've had my problems in the past and everything, but I always feel that there is someone who I can talk to, tell my fears..." 

"Of course Yami, I'll always listen to anything you have to say. Just like I know that you always find a way to help me..." At this, Bakura let out a little laugh. They were still looking at each other, and the silence was becoming heavier, like something was building in the air. Now Ryou was somewhat uncomfortable, so he said, "Let's go down to dinner." 

"Yeah," answered the ancient tomb robber. He dropped his hikari's hand and followed him down the stairs. 

After dinner, they decided to watch the television for a bit. Ryou settled on a romantic drama, to Bakura's dismay. For a while, his yami was complaining about all of the sappiness, but after a while he seemed to get caught up in it as well. Ryou was the type to get caught up in emotional movies, and this one was certainly no exception. He kept trying to surrepticiously wipe tears from his eyes. In the end, when the main character died, Ryou couldn't hold it in anymore, and let his tears run unhindered down his face. He was surprised when he felt an arm go around his back, and pull him in close. A sharp tingle crept up his spine. He felt his yami put a hand under his chin, and pull Ryou's tearstained face up to his. He looked at Ryou's now bloodshot eyes, and with a little sigh, leaned in to softly kiss him. After a look of surprise, Ryou slowly closed his eyelids. He couldn't believe what had just happened, but yet, it seemed so right. Yami leaned in again, and this time placed soft kisses on the boy's eyelids, and down his cheeks, leading to his lips again. This time, he held the kiss longer, and pulled Ryou closer with his other arm. All this time Ryou was silent, with his eyes closed. 

"Ryou," yami said gently, "Is this alright?" 

Eyes still closed, he replied shyly, "Yes. More than alright" 

At that, Bakura pulled in closer to Ryou again, and kissed him, this time running his tounge over Ryou's lips. He hesitantly parted them, and felt Bakura press into his mouth and slide his tongue against Ryou's. He let out a quiet little moan, and Bakura began to push Ryou down onto the couch under him. As he kept kissing the boy, he reached under his shirt, running his hands along the boy's sides. Ryou let out another moan, and pressed himself closer to his yami, rubbing his hands over Bakura's back. This reaction caused Bakura to press down harder on Ryou, and push his tongue deeper into his mouth. His hands now wandered onto Ryou's chest, and began to take off his shirt. Ryou shivered a bit at the chill, and then his yami pulled off his own shirt and threw it off to the side. When he leaned back onto Ryou, he began to nibble at his neck, running his tongue over the other's pale, smooth skin. He squeezed Ryou's nipples between his fingers, sending a jolt through the boy under him. Again Ryou pressed into his yami, feeling skin against skin. He wrapped his legs around Bakura's, and Bakura responded, suddenly gripping Ryou tightly, trailing his nails down his back, and pressing down hard into the other's groin. Both boys were breathing quickly, and Bakura paused, questioning his hikari. "Do you want to keep going, Ryou? You can tell me if you're uncomfortable." 

As an answer, Ryou pulled Bakura's head back to his own and kissed him deeply, sliding his tongue into the other's mouth, silencing his fears. Bakura slid his hands down to Ryou's bottom, and pulled him closer, rubbing his lower half back and forth between the boys hips. Ryou moaned, and slid his hands over his other's back, slipping them under Bakura's boxers to rub his firm behind. Bakura responded with a small growl. "Lets take this upstairs, shall we?" 

Ryou's mind came back to the present, and he wished for the ecstasy of the last night to last forever. However, something was strange, like a burden pressing over thier bliss, and he wanted to know why even the ever-confident Bakura was scared. 

"Yami..." Ryou said hesitantly, thinking over his next words carefully, "Do you know why you feel that way?" 

"I..." Bakura started, wondering if he did know, "I'm not sure, but somehow there's this deep... sorrow. I don't know what it means." Echoes of laughter and games intensified the silence after he spoke. 

"Yami," Ryou said, turning around to face his lover, "There's something wrong, isn't there?" He said this quietly, not feeling as if he wanted to explore the question much further. Bakura looked into his light's eyes, and for a moment a scene passed before his eyes, something painful, and then it was gone, and he couldn't really hold on to what it meant. 

Ryou started as some incomprehensible look passed over Bakura's face. "What is it, Yami?" 

Bakura, who's breath was now coming a little too quickly, answered. "Aibou, let's not worry about it for now. What do you say we take a walk to the marsh? There won't be anyone around there..." A teasing smirk passed over his face, while he tried to hide his discomfort. He thought to himself, 'I'll have to consult the cards tonight, maybe I can get some idea.' 

Ryou slowly shut his eyes. A shiver moved up his spine as his lover slipped his hand beneath Ryou's shirt, and rubbed it over his waist. "Sure thing, Yami." The two stood and walked down to the water.   
  


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_A.N. Please read and review! ( I fixed this chappie up a bit from the first posting. If I feel the courage, I may end up "fixing" the lime into a lemon... if I think I know enough about writing it. *heh, heh* *laughing because she decided to describe Bakura's behind as "firm"* ^^;; )_


	2. Duality

Don't own Yugioh. Thanx goes out to Ryuujitsu, who's feeding my greedy hunger for reviews! *^.^*  
  
This chapter may be a bit slow. I welcome constructive critisizm, so if you have any suggestions, please feel free.  
  
The tarot cards used in Bakura's reading were actually drawn by me, trying to figure out where to go with the story. I thought that that would be more fun and make more sense than trying to intellectually pick out cards. I used the Marseille deck, because of the wonderful book "The Book of Tarot" by Fred Gettings, which is unfortunately out of print. I'm sorry if I screwed up any of the meanings, or if you're just used to others. I just tried to do what felt right. Bakura knows how to read the cards, if you noticed, he used his duel monsters deck to read Pegasus's fortune when he came to steal his Millenium Eye. Anyway, on with   
  
The Truth Hurts  
  
Duality  
  
They came home late that evening, opting to eat dinner out. When they walked into the house, Ryou yawned. "Aibou, I feel really drained somehow. I'm gonna go to bed." Bakura came up to his other half and held him in a strong embrace.  
  
"I'll come to bed soon, but there's something I need to do first." His other looked at him questioningly, but at the serious look in his eyes, decided to leave it be.   
  
'I wonder what's going on with Bakura,' he thought. He placed a sweet kiss on his lips and said, "Okie, dokie." He went up to his bedroom with worry about his feelings earlier that day and wondered if there might be anything to them.  
  
As soon as he heard Ryou close his bedroom door, Bakura went to a cabinet and pulled out two candles and his tarot cards. He cleared the round glass coffee table and cleaned it with glass spray. He placed the two candles down, one on his left, and one on his right, and placed the cards face down in the middle. He lit the candles, and then went to dim the lights. He sat for a few moments, letting his mind be cleared by the licking flames, and then picked up the cards. He held them, and felt their energy warmly vibrate in his palms. He then began to concentrate on his question, infusing the cards with meaning. What was going on between him and Ryou? What was this feeling of duality, of something hidden in darkness, waiting for light to reveal it? He began to shuffle, and when he was satisfied, began to lay out cards in the traditional Celtic Cross pattern.  
  
The first card that he laid out was Strength. This card was meant to represent him in relation to the question. He felt the positive influence of it, telling him that he was ready to change, and to control wild energies and emotions. He wondered, however, what these wild energies were, and what exactly did he have to change from. Ever since he'd joined Ryou, six years ago, life seemed darn near perfect, and got better every day, especially last night. It seemed strange to him to draw that card. The next card he drew was House of God, and this card represented obstacles. This didn't bode well. Separation of linked entities, physical and mental illness? This didn't seem to apply to his life. The second card was supposed to represent current obstacles, so what the hell did it mean? Next he drew the Empress, a positive sign. Card three represents conscious aim, and this was saying that he was ready to transcend, aiming to change, echoing the first card. This was true, he was ready to do whatever he needed in order to protect his love. Coincidentally, the Empress also represented one that he loved.   
  
The next card, The Star, was subconcious aim. Usually it meant creative energies, but as he gazed at it, his eyes were drawn to the large red and yellow star in the center of seven smaller ones. Why did he think of that star as the Pharoah? As an afterthought, he smirked, remembering that there were seven millenium items. Why would that pop into his head? Strange. He seemed to be thinking, subconciously, (just as the fourth card represented) of the millenium items. What did they have to do with him, though? He had his ring, which joined him and his aibou for life. Why did he care about the others? That feeling of sorrow suddenly returned, squeezing his heart painfully.  
  
He was finding it a bit hard to breath now, but he had to continue if he was to know how to approach this unknown problem. In drawing the fifth card, he gasped, feeling loathing and disgust. This card represented him, and he'd drawn the devil. It was the ultimate symbol of passivity, weakness, and sexual depravity. This couldn't be true! He didn't understand; he felt himself to be a decent enough person... and at that thought, his heart gave out a squeeze so hard he thought it would burst. He quickly drew the next, wishing to get to the bottom of things. The Hanging Man. Cluelessness, not knowing ones position in life, lonliness, also, materiality. Was he missing something? Is that what the cards were trying to tell him. This card represented him in relation with others. Was he materialistic or lonely? It didn't seem that he was, at least not incredibly so. Then again what of his sorrow? Cluelessness... that seemed to fit. If something was going on that he wasn't getting...  
  
He drew the Juggler, which in this position represented his attitude towards himself. That told him that he was taking things for granted, and that he was in an excellent position to learn more about himself and life. However, the Juggler, being the first in the deck, meant that he had a long way to go. The next card represented his current environment. Drawing the Sun, he felt elated, as this was one of the most excellent cards to draw. It signified spiritual growth, the womb, paradise. It also signified rebirth. Hmm. He understood that his life with Ryou was about growth, and it certainly felt like paradise. But what about rebirth? Was that about him coming out of the ring? He drew the next card, which was to represent his hopes and fears. The card was the Judgement. This card also represented rebirth, and an awakening. However, he already drew rebirth in the card that represented his present environment. What was it also doing in his hopes (or fears)? Also, did he fear some kind of judgement of himself? That question didn't come with an answer.  
  
Now his hand lay on the next card with great trepidation. The tenth position of the cross signified what was to come. He shakily pulled the card off of the deck and flipped it. When he saw what it was, he almost threw it from his hand. The Fool. A man going blindly forward, carrying great tools on his back unknowingly, being pushed forward by emotions, making senseless choices. What kind of mistake was he about to make? He thought back to the Hanging Man, showing that he was clueless in his relation to others, and the Empress, representing his aim to... to change for Ryou? He suddenly began to put it together. Something was going to go on between him and Ryou, something that he couldn't see but only felt.  
  
He realized that he'd never put that last card down, and as he began to lower it, it slowly floated out of his hand, to hang in front of him, and the other cards lifted off of the table and began to encircle it! He'd never seen anything like this before... and he'd done many readings. He realized that his ring began to glow and feel warm on his chest, and then suddenly there was a flash of light from the Fool, and the cards flew, scattering across the room. The glass table in front of him began to grow milky, and as his eyes became mesmorized in the swirling pattern, he realized that some sort of vision was forming.  
  
He saw himself, and the millenium items floating in an arc above his head. He had a greedy, smug look to his face, and to his sides the other holders of the items were laying unconcious... or was it dead? He stood on the chest of Ryou, while his aibou lay bloody and bruised, tears staining his cheeks. What in Ra's name was this? Suddenly, he felt himself on the other side of the glass, as this alternate Bakura, while seeing himself staring in disbelief from the couch through the coffee table at Ryou's home. What... what was going on? He wasn't sure what was real; was he here or there? He felt the sorrow squeezing his heart, and leaned down to pick up Ryou's broken form, only to find his heart becoming quickly cold, and an anger he'd never felt before quickly seize his being. He felt himself being ripped in two. The House of God. He was collapsing. 


	3. Flipped

Don't own Yugioh  
  
Thanx to VampssAmby10210 and Ryuujitsu for faithfully reviewing. ToT *cries with joy*  
  
This is the third chapter of The Truth Hurts. I've been working on something else lately, so this has been on hiatus, but a few people said they liked it, so I'm back! Hopefully, soon I'll also get the other fic out (it's about Shizuka and Yami no Bakura, mainly, during battle city) and maybe you'll like that one, too! ***Warning*** This chappie is a departure from the last, because it contains much foul language, and NCS (rape, ok). So be warned. The parts that surpass the R rating (IMHO) are cut out here, so go to my author profile and to my website to read them.  
  
  
  
The Truth Hurts  
  
Chapter 2: Flipped  
  
Bakura snapped up from his pillow. 'What the hell was that? Why did I dream about doing a reading? And what in the hell did that vision mean?' The dream had shown him a vision.  
  
And in it, he was in love with Ryou.  
  
'What the fuck? Why am I dreaming about my little shit host, feeling all gushy inside like a freaking girl? I must have eaten something rotten last night.' He heard a stirring from the floor beside him. 'Great,'he thought, 'the little fucker's waking up now. Good. I can get him back for invading my privacy, my dreams.' He got off of the bed and stood by Ryou's floor mat. He was covered with a sheet, curled up like a helpless fetus. 'Why did I get stuck with this lame excuse for a human? Whenever I try to get Ryou to help me, he squeals like a tortured piglet, "No, Bakura-sama, I can't do that to my friends, No, Bakura-sama, someone might get hurt, No, Bakura-sama, that's not right No Bakura-sama No Bakura-sama NO BAKURA-SAMA!" The shithead screams like a bitch, but he can't even stand up for himself properly. At least then I might feel some respect for him, but all he does is complain and whimper and go running to his little girlfriends, Yugi and Jounouchi. Well, when people are picking on him, hurting him, trying to rape him, for gods sake, who the fuck is there to stop it? Lil' Miss Yugi? Jounouchi? No, it's me. It's me all the time, and Ryou'd never even fucking says thank you. So fucking polite, and he can't even say thank you to his saviour. Yeah, that's right, I'm Ryou's personal Jesus H. Christ.'  
  
"Wake up, you pathetic excuse for a life. I'm fucking hungry, and you're laying there like a beauty queen. Get up." Ryou mumbled and turned over, still sleeping. Bakura reached down and grabbed him by the front of his pajama top, pulling him up until their faces were level. Ryou screamed, not expecting this violent awakening, all of the color that was still left in his face draining away. "Shut the hell up, do you want to wake up the whole god damned neighborhood?"   
  
"I'm s-sorry, Bakura-sama, I'll make you breakfast right away. Just please, let me go." Ryou was shaking.  
  
Bakura smirked. "As you wish." He let go of Ryou, letting him slam onto the floor. Ryou let out a small yelp, and Bakura kicked him in the rump with the side of his foot. "So hurry up, get a move on, woman." 'Now, that's better.' Bakura's morning was slowly improving. Ryou scampered up, as fast as he could, and stumbled downstairs before his other could do any more damage to him.  
  
In a few minutes, Bakura was downstairs, waiting impatiently for Ryou to finish preparing his pancakes. "Today, my slovenly host, we are going to conduct some business."   
  
"Wh-what's that, Bakura-sama?" Ryou asked, without looking away from the stove.  
  
Bakura sneered, though Ryou couldn't see it. "It's very simple. You are going to find your little girlfriend, Yugi, and pretend to be sick. You'll ask him to escort you to the bathroom. Then, being alone with him, you will take his puzzle. You will bring my knife, and threaten to kill him if he doesn't comply. This way, even Pharoah won't stop you. He'll be too busy protecting his little look-alike's life."  
  
The whole time, Ryou stood hinged on Bakura's every word. He hadn't even noticed that the pancake he was cooking was begining to burn. He quickly flipped it off onto a plate. Fortunately, Bakura didn't notice, else he would have been berating him for that. "Ba-Bakura," he said, "You know I... I c-can't do that to my friend."  
  
Bakura was prepared for this. In fact, he was so happy that his host had protested. This was going to make it so much more fun.  
  
"That is where you're wrong, my little homemaker. You can, and you will. Because I know that you wouldn't want me to have to do it. You wouldn't want me to take over, and possibly hurt your little girlfriend. You know, I haven't had a good fuck in a while, and it's so much better when they squirm..."  
  
"No, Bakura, you can't!" With sudden horror, Ryou realized what he'd done, too late to do anything about it.  
  
Bakura got up from his chair. He walked behind Ryou, and grabbed the back of his shirt. "What did you just call me?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Bakura-sama! I'm an idiot. I forgot myself. Please forgive me, master." He added 'master', even though Bakura hadn't insisted he call him. He hoped Bakura might leave him alone...  
  
He sharply spun Ryou around to face him. "I don't think I will, slave. I'm getting sick of your insolence, of your fucking whimpering... You know, I think you owe me more than an apology." The smirk on his face made Ryou's eyes go wide in fear. It had been so long since... since the last time... He'd hoped... no, prayed... that Bakura would never do this to him again. But his prayers were said in vain. There was only one "God" in his life now, and he was pressing his hardened groin against Ryou's. The sick thing was that he felt himself begining to respond. It was hard not to. For all of the destruction that he brought into Ryou's life, he was the only one to really touch him. Ryou felt disgusted with himself. He wanted to vomit, to let everything go, but he had to hold it in, if he didn't want things to get worse.  
  
"So, it's seem's that you really want to apologize, whore." Bakura threw him down on his back, and straddled his waist. He undid his jeans.  
  
Tears were begining to run openly down Ryou's cheeks. "No, please, master, I beg you, I'll do anything you say."  
  
"It's too late for that, now. You have to learn your lesson. Besides, I know that you're lying. You're so hard now that if I left you like this, you would be in pain all day, wouldn't you?" Ryou's sobs only continued to increase in volume. He was beginning to choke on them. "That's alright, I already know your answer."  
  
Bakura slid further up Ryou's chest, getting ready to force himself into his mouth. Then, as if someone, somewhere, had heard Ryou, and answered his plea, the doorbell rang. "Shit." Bakura zipped himself up and dissappeared into the ring. ~Get the fucking door, pussy.~  
  
Ryou quickly got up, and yelled, "Just a minute." He ran to the sink and splashed cooling water over his eyes. He knew they were still red, but he wouldn't have time to wait untill they went back to normal. He straightened out his hair, and ran to get the door.  
  
Yugi and Jounouchi were on the other side. Bakura smirked. ~Hey, pussy, it's your lucky day isn't it? You can get this over with as soon as you get to school.~ Inwardly, Ryou was wincing at his words, but to his friends, he simply said, "Hey, what's up?"  
  
"Hey, Ryou. Are you alright? You look like crap." Jounouchi wasn't very tactful.  
  
Yugi elbowed him in the ribs. "Ryou, remember, we were supposed to walk to school together today, to start planning our history project."  
  
"Oh yeah, I forgot. I'm not ready, guys. I still haven't washed up yet or anything." He still had an erection, and he prayed that they wouldn't notice. He couldn't cover himself up without drawing attention to it. "Maybe you should go on without me." He heard Bakura growl in his soul room. ~Don't even think about getting out of it. You'll go with them now!~  
  
"Don't worry about it. Why don't you go get washed up, and we'll help you clean up!" Yugi was concerned about Ryou, but he put on a cheerful smile.  
  
Ryou felt himself about to cry again. His friends were always so nice to him. "Really? You don't have to do that."   
  
"Don't argue, Ryou, or we'll have to drag you to your bathroom." Jou smiled, but his eyes were serious.  
  
"Alright, ok, I'm going!" And Ryou turned and ran upstairs, hearing his friends discussing him in fading whispers.   
  
When he got to the bathroom, he closed the door and ran to the toilet.  
  
*Skipped stuff, go to author profile to my website to read it, then come back to review here, please! *  
  
He was about to vomit, when he heard his friends coming up the stairs. "Ryou, are you ok? You've been in there a long time." That was Jounouchi. He was tempted to tell them that he was sick, and staying home, but he knew what would happen to him if he did.  
  
"I'm sorry guys, I just spilled something on myself." He felt himself gaging on his words.  
  
"Alright, but it's getting a bit late now." That was Yugi. He sounded worried.  
  
Ryou answered, holding back his nausea one more time in order to answer. "Okay, just give me another ten minutes, and I'll come down."  
  
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(AN Sorry for the shocking turn, but I did foreshadow a bit, did I not? Actually, I didn't know what I would write untill I just started writing. Never fear, however, this story will, somehow, have a positive ending.   
  
Sammy-chan: Wow, you have a foul mind!  
  
Bklva: So?  
  
Ryou: What have you done to me!!?? *Grabs hair in despair (hey that rhymes!)*  
  
Bakura: You'll pay for that! *Mill. ring starts to glow, and Bklva's body starts to become see-thru.*  
  
Bklva: *quickly speaking before she totally disapears* Okay, please R+R, that's the best way to get me to update. I accept constructive criticism as always... *disappears to shadow realm*  
  
Bakura: "Bakuraluva" indeed. *Grabs Ryou and huggles him* 


	4. Sympathy and Indifference

Hello again. This chapter contains a bit of violence and foul language, but not nearly as bad as the last. Neeways, the next chappie of   
  
The Truth Hurts  
  
Sympathy and Indifference  
  
Ryou, along with Yugi and Jou, walked towards school together. He felt Bakura's sheathed knife pressing against his back where it was concealed under his school uniform. Ryou kept a cheerful look on his face, but, unknown to the others, he was dying on the inside. He'd barely had time to clean up before he ran out of the house with them. His torn skin was burning from where his Yami had forced himself into him. And yet he still had to keep himself walking straight, at least for the time being. As if all of the pain wasn't enough, he now had to plan how to get Yugi alone with him, ironically, so that Yugi wouldn't get hurt.  
  
Bakura, watching the boys walk to school from his soul room, realized that he would have to get Jounouchi out of the way. Once they were inside of the school, Bakura used the power of his ring to project an image of Honda down the hall. "Hey, Jounouchi" the image called, "can I speak to you alone for a minute?"  
  
"Sure, Honda." He turned to face his friends. "Don't wait up for me, okay." He turned and jogged over to where Honda was now dissapearing around the corner. "Hey, wait up!"  
  
Ryou felt a lump rise in his throat. He was now trapped by the inevitable. ~Come on, yadonushi, we don't have all day, unless you'd like me to...~  
  
~No, Bakura-sama, I'll do it.~ As they walked towards the class room, Ryou let out a noise sort of like "Ungh" and grabbed Yugi's shoulder. Yugi quickly asked, "Ryou, are you alright?"  
  
Ryou heard his yami's satisfied laughter in the background of his thoughts. He didn't have time to be angry, though. "Yu-Yugi," he stammered, "I feel sick. Can you help me to the bathroom?"  
  
Yugi wrapped his right arm around Ryou's back in order to support him, while he draped his left arm around Yugi's shoulders. He hoped Yugi's arm wouldn't slip and feel the knife. He leaned heavily on the shorter boy, both walking towards uncertainty, one knowingly, and one not. They finally reached the bathroom, and turned in. This was it. Ryou really did look sick, his pale face covered in sweat. Yugi lead him to the stall. Before Yugi knew what hit him, he was being held tightly with a knife pressed against his neck. Ryou spoke first.  
  
"Yugi, I'm so sorry. I had to do this, otherwise my yami said that he would hurt you." Yugi looked at him with wild eyes. Ryou felt his heart lowering into the pit of his stomach. At least when Bakura took over his body, he could separate himself from the guilt, convice himself that his yami was at fault, which of course was true. But now, here he was, threatening his friends life for a stupid piece of gold. 'I'm no better than Bakura, I'm just a heartless bastard.' That was in no way accurate. He was choosing the lesser of two evils. But Bakura had something to say.  
  
~See what I'm talking about now, you fucking fool? With all your airs of righteousness and morality, you're still no better than me. You'd rather hurt your friend than have me do it for you. Well, yadonushi, perhaps, in time, we can finally begin to work together. You can't deny that you like being the one in control, can you?~  
  
Yugi saw Ryou's eyes glaze, as he obviously was having a conversation with the parasite who lived in his body. He could call his yami out now, to defend him, but he was afraid of what the spirit would do when he was under duress. He didn't want to endanger Ryou. It wasn't his fault that Bakura was a greedy bastard. He quietly spoke up. "What is it that you want, Ryou?"  
  
This question brought another pang of guilt to Ryou's heart. Yugi wanted to know what he wanted. Not what Bakura wanted, but what he wanted. And in a way, he guessed Yugi was right. Maybe if he got the puzzle, all of this could be over. It's not like Yugi would actually get hurt, anyway...  
  
"The puzzle." That simple. It was all he could say, without breaking down into tears.  
  
Yugi sighed, feeling the steel pressed hard enough to him that if he moved, he would certainly be bleeding. He felt his yami wake with a start in his soul room. He tried to keep him from coming out, but the spirit's will was stronger than his own. He was pushed back to his soul room.  
  
Ryou saw a light come from Yugi, and realized what was happening. His mind whirled at the thought of the danger he was in, but he fought to keep calm. But he needn't have concerned himself, because as soon as Bakura realized what was happening, he took control.  
  
"Pharoah! Give me your millenium puzzle, if you don't want your little girlfriend to get hurt!" In his mind, he was less confident. He knew the spirit would have no qualms about sending him to the Shadow Realm, even with Ryou.  
  
The Pharoah narrowed his eyes, turning his head to face Bakura. A little line of blood flowed from where the knife was against his hikari's neck. "You are treading on dangerous ground, thief. Release me, before you do great harm to yourself. I don't want to hurt your host, but if it comes between your's and mine, you will understand my choice, of course."  
  
"Don't be so simple-minded, stupid, fucking bastard. One move from you, and I will slice the life from both of you."  
  
"Well, why don't you just kill us now? Wouldn't that save you the trouble of worrying about retaliation?" The pharoah was baiting the tomb-robber, while he prepared a simple spell.  
  
What did the Pharoah think he was doing? Was he baiting him? Well, he would just have to show him how serious he was. "Well, Pharoah, I need you around even after I possess the puzzle. I need your knowledge. This doesn't prevent me from hurting you, however, so let me show you just how serious I am." Bakura pressed the blade into Yugi's neck, drawing it along hard enough to draw blood and cause pain, but not enough to kill.  
  
The Pharoah was ready. He was waiting for this. Yugi's blood flowed crimson onto the puzzle, seeping through the cracks towards the inside of the puzzle. He pretended to be really hurt. "Alright, Bakura, stop! I'll give you the puzzle, just don't hurt my host."  
  
"Now, you speak some sense. Remember, try anything stupid, and your host is worm food." Bakura reached his left hand, which was around the pharoah's shoulders, tighter around the boy, and grabbed the puzzle. He began to remove it from his neck, when he felt an unbelievable pain jolt through his body, starting from the hand that gripped the item. He was thrown from the pharoah. The spirt stood over him, smirking. He was dissapearing, in fact, everything around him was turning black. As his consciousness slipped from him, he heard the last thing the Pharoah said. "You shouldn't have fucked with me, thief."  
  
A.N. This seems shorter than the others. I guess I'll be able to tell when I post it. Anyways, I had to end it on this cliffie. I'm not sure what comes next. I have a general idea, but nothing specific planned. Well, please read and review, again! I will be inspired to update!   
  
I want to thank all of the wonderful reviewers for stroking my poor little writer's ego. I wouldn't be able to keep writing the story without you guys. (I originally thought it sucked.)  
  
Well, hope you enjoy!   
  
Bklva ^_^ 


	5. The Truth

I finally did it! I've finally thought of where I want to go with this fic! I hope *gulp* This fic assumes that Ryou got the pendant when he was in his teens. (I think in the manga he got it earlier?) I want to thank all of the lovely reviewers who stuck by me all of the time. This chappie is especially dedicated to LovelySchoolGurlShindou, without who's encouragement (okay, and rough shaking) I may not have been able to continue. Also, sorry if anything seems incomplete or anything, I'm running late for work but am very exited to write this chappie and get it up.  
  
The Truth Hurts  
  
Chapter 5: The Truth  
  
Ryou's forehead was covered with sweat as he twisted and turned in his sheets. He moaned and whimpered to an imaginary audience. He called out a name, and suddenly jolted awake. His rapid breathing began to gradually slow, and with that, his mind began to focus. He couldn't understand it. It was the third or fourth time he'd had this dream in the last two weeks. Each time the details became sharper; each time he came closer to finding the meaning, or at least he thought he did. It seemed to be pulling him in two, right down the center of his soul. Each time he had the dream, his despair grew worse and worse.  
  
Then, it struck him. The name. The one he had called out. It was his own name, his family name. Bakura.  
  
What in the world did that mean? Why was the one in his dreams, the one tormenting him with both pain and immense pleasure, named after himself? And now that he recalled it, why did the dream-figure look so much like himself? He didn't understand why something that was just a figment of his imagination was causing him more distress than his real life problems. He looked at the clock by his bedside. Today was Saturday, and he had an appointment with his therapist at noon. He didn't like to go, but his father had insisted that he was very lonely and should see someone to get some help. His father didn't understand how it felt to be sitting in that office, a complete stranger looking at you as if you were a specimin in a jar... Still, this could be an opportunity to talk about the weird dreams.   
  
When he got out of bed, it occured to him that today was the twelfth of the month, and his father had promised to come home that evening. With that thought, his heart began to fill with happiness. He truly missed his father, as annoying as he could be, and it really was lonely to be in the house alone every night, with no one to talk to. Maybe that was why he didn't have any friends in school; talking to yourself was seen as a strange habit. Not that it mattered; he never ended up staying at any one school more than a few months, due to the transitory duration of his father's assignments.  
  
On the walk to the therapist's office, he felt some sort of brewing nervous exitement in the pit of his stomach. He wasn't sure if he was happy or agitated, or just insane. To his own dismay, he found himself skipping along the sunlit concrete, hoping to god that no one was around to see him. After almost tripping a few times over his two left feet, he settled for briskly walking. For some reason, he felt as if things were going to change for him today. Maybe it was the sunlight soaking into his pale skin.  
  
As a young man neared a doctor's office, in an airplane many miles above the skies of Egypt, a middle-aged man held a box in his hand, labled "to Ryou, from your father". In it lay a gold ring, surrounded by cone-shaped pendants, with an eye in a pyramid as it's centerpiece. The man couldn't see it, but the ring in the box let out a soft glow, accompanied by a soft ringing tone that wasn't audible to any of the people around him. As the plane ascended further into the clouds above, the man mulled over his life with his son. He would be sixteen in a couple of months, and he wasn't sure that he had done right by him. After his wife and young daughter had died, he'd thrown himself into his work, not realizing that he'd left Ryou to fend for himself, emotionally and physically. Realize wasn't even the right word. He'd idenied/i the truth to himself. It was easier to bury any guilt; otherwise, he'd have to have dealt with the fact that two of the people whom he'd most loved in the world were gone. Now, however, everything would be different.   
  
He'd met a man in a bar in Cairo, a small, greyish-skinned Egyptian with brown eyes that shone with light. They spoke to each other in broken versions of each other's languages.   
  
i"So, you sent the young man to see a therapist?" The old man had a skeptical look in his eye. He didn't believe in all that new-fangled junk people were falling into these days.  
  
"Well, I can't just let him sit around and stew in his own misery! I even caught him talking to himself a few times." At this point, his eyes began to fog over with unshed tears. "It may not seem like the worst thing in the world, but there could be things going on inside of him that I don't know about. I want to send him to a professional now, before it becomes the type of situation that really needs professional help."  
  
The little old man's eyes darkened a bit. "Let me tell you something of my own experience, and please listen to me. I'm older than you, and I've been through a great deal in my life. I had two children, two young boys. One of them, in an unfortunate accident, lost the parts of his brain involving movement and speech. In those days, there were no gadgets that could replace those functions. We had to institutionalize him. My other son wanted to see him very badly, but I wouldn't allow it. I could not let my other boy be hurt, and so I coddled him. I gave him all that he wanted, any toys or clothes he asked of me; I sent him to the richest resorts and fed him the richest sweets, anything for my boy to be happy." The man stopped talking, his eyes now glazed with memory.  
  
Ryou's father looked at his new friend expectantly. He was afraid to hear the rest, and yet, if he was to live without guilt, without the pain of his conscience constantly telling him that he should have done more, he knew that he must listen. He felt his heart strengthening with the resolve to love Ryou, really love Ryou, no matter what it took. "So what happened to him?" he quietly asked.  
  
The old man abruptly pulled out of his reverie, and hardened his features in order to be able to tell the rest of the tale without breaking down. "Well," he said, his voice shaking,"one day I got home from my job, and found a note taped to the bottom of the stairs." A few drops of moisture slid down his cheek. "It was from my son. It said that he'd snuck off and visited the institution to visit his brother. He said that he'd never imagined that he was living like a prince while his brother was living in a state of misery. He asked me why I'd lied, why I'd treated him as a glutton and a fool. He said that he'd always been very sad, and that now he knew why; because I'd never bothered telling him the truth about his brother, because I thought that he wasn't man enough to handle it. I found him in the bathroom upstairs. He'd drained the lifeblood out of his veins." The old man was breathing heavily, obviously reliving a pain that was as fresh as the day it had happened. "Are you begining to understand what I mean? My last hope and love in the world, next to his brother, who for me had died on the day of the accident, thought that I didn't love him. He thought so, and he didn't even think to ask me. If only I'd know what he needed, that he needed sympathy, not coddling, the truth, not fairytales... Do you see what I'm trying to tell you? I understand that you are more akin to my son than you are to me. You are coddling yourself, keeping yourself away from the truth. That is what will kill you. It is your inability to deal with the truth that will ruin your son, because, like my own, he believes that you don't love him. He needs you desperately, and all that you give him is a few yearly visits and an "I'll see you soon"!  
  
When the man had finished his yelling, he looked at the younger man before him, scanning for signs of anger or defensiveness. He found, instead, a look of horror on the face of the man in front of him. His tears were flowing freely now, but he didn't care. He assumed that this was some sort of an attempt on his part to attone for sins of the past, but he sincerely hoped that it would help the young man./i  
  
At his friend's words, Ryou's father understood that he'd been fooling himself for years. All of the weight of his ineptitude as a father pressed heavily into his heart. He only hoped that it wasn't too late to make it up to his son. That was why he was on this plane, bringing this last souveneir of his travels home to Ryou. It had belonged to his old friend who'd bought it for his son. The young man had never worn it, so the father kept it for himself after his son died. He gave it to Ryou's father as a reminder of how important it is to face reality head on. With those thoughts, he began to fall asleep, not noticing the turbulence that the plane was begining to encounter. 


	6. Pain

Hello, minna-san! I'm very excited by my new connection to this fic! I'm really starting to feel sympathy for the characters, so now I can hopefully get into thier lives and start messing them up... oops, did I say that, I meant writing them up, yeah, that's what I meant...  
  
Bakura: *glares evily at authoress* You're pushing my buttons, you know.  
  
Bklva: *shies away, looking for an exit* Um, I want to answer reviews now! *runs into the closet and locks the door*  
  
Ryuujitsu: (^_^)( ^_)( ^)( )(^ )(_^ )(@_@) Thanx for the sugar, it really is helping stimulate my thinking! I'm sorry to hurt your brain! It is a flashback. Sort of. Ryou has been dreaming of Bakura, but he hasn't met him yet, nor does he have the ring yet. I can't go into too much more detail, 'cause I guess it's supposed to surprise you. Surprise!!! -_-;; Uh, yeah... fluff, hmm... I'm sorry, but it's too early for fluff yet. We're just gettin' to the good stuff, plotwise. Thankies for reviewing! Kisses!  
  
Bakura: Come on out of there! You know you can't keep me out of anything locked up!!  
  
Aurora of the Moon: I'm glad you like! I hope I'm continuing soon enough... better than the last time, in any case! Thanks for always reviewing! Huggles!  
  
Bklva: *hears the sound of something jiggling in the lock* It's no good, Baka-Baku! You can't get in, it's a super duper magic lock!!!  
  
DorothyWhainright: I'm glad you like it! Sorry it's confusing, but it's a bit confusing to me, too! I'm making it up as I go along -_-;; It will make sense at some point, I promise! Thank you!! Huggles!  
  
Bakura: Stop trying to defend your pathetic drivel and unlock that door at once, before I have to blow up the lock with the closet and you in it.  
  
crazytomboy1: Thank you for getting Bakura to comment! My answer to Baka... oops, I mean Bakura: Oh, come on, admit it, yer just a pile of soft mushy mush inside, ain't ya? *pets imaginary version of Bakura on the head* *Imaginary Bakura growls at Bklva* *Bklva quickly withdraws her hand* Um, thank you for your review! Kisses!  
  
Bakura: Of all the rotten things to call someone; Mushy mush!! Why I aughta...  
  
Bklva: Now, now *hears the sound of a chainsaw starting up* hehe *laughs nervously* No need to get upset, Bakura!  
  
CheukTing: Yeah, you basically got it right; it's a flashback, sorta... you'll see (or if not, I'll explain later; dun wanna give anything away) Thanks muchly! Kisses!  
  
Bklva: *hears sound of chainsaw approaching*   
  
Bakura: Now I've got you where I want you!! *cackles with glee*  
  
Bklva: *whispers* Normally I'd be glad to hear that... *sweatdrops* *wipes off drool from face* *hears chainsaw begining to cut into wood* *opens secret hatch at back of closet* I always knew this would come in handy! *slips out just as the chainsaw hits air*  
  
Bakura: What the @#$%!! Where did she go?  
  
darkangal322: Oh ye of the short review! Thanx for sticking with me!! Huggles!  
  
Bakura: *lifts sennen ring from chest* *jangles it* Work, darn it!! You're supposed to locate evil authoresses, so do it! *sighs* *sits in closet and closes the door* Oooh! Dark... *drools like an idiot* O_o  
  
Bklva: *snickering from her hidden location* So that's what he's like in his almighty dark! He's lucky no one can see him. hehe  
  
prodigy-angel-x: Cool, I'm so glad you like it! It surprises me that you chose to read my story even though you don't usually like yaoi. Is it really so good? *blushes* Thankies!! Kisses!  
  
Bakura: *curls into a little ball* *begins sucking his thumb* (The rest is edited out in order for Bakura not to see it later and kill the authoress by a method of slow torture.) It's not my fault if he's mentally unstable! *dodges rotten vegetables thrown by angered fangirls* Oh, come on, you know you love to see him tortured!! *is hit squarely between the eyes with a bottle of V8 and falls to the floor unconcious*)  
  
LovelySchoolGurlShindou: *silence* (What, she's unconcious!?) (Oh, she's me...) (Oh, and I'm not unconcious!) (Guess I'll finish answering this review, then.) Oni-chaaannnn!!! (that sounds like brother, doesn't it -_-;;) You're back with a review and it's a novella! *is touched* I know you really like this story and you're showering me with heaps of praise *knocked down by a heap* It makes me feel wonderful! ^_____^ I find the whole gerkin thing very amusing, lol!! I put up a few more funny things on my profile, you may wanna check 'em out. Thank you for all of your encouragement! *glomps Oni-chan right back*  
  
VampssAmby10210: So ya noticed the turbulence thing, I'm guessing? Why does the story have to get really sad for me to get into it? *sigh* *wipes tear* I'm glad it's keeping you in suspense! Thank you!! Kisses!!  
  
Sabby: I'm sorry I confused you; it will get more understandable as I understand it better ^^;; Glad you stopped by The Truth Hurts, and hope you have a safe ride! Thanx for reviewing! Huggles!  
  
LazyLiza: I'm so happy that that waiting for my story is driving you stark raving mad... erm, did I say that? Sorry, I'm just in an irreverant mood right now. Anyway, that means that you LURVES it, dontcha, huh huh huh? Okay, I'll stop talking now. Except for a big Thank You and Many Huggles for reviewing, and I hope that this will satisfy you!  
  
Okay, and now *gulp* I'm ready to contin- *hears the sound of evilness, whatever that means*  
  
Bakura: *getting up and out from closet* *practically glaring death rays at Bakuraluva* What the hell was that!! *notices chainsaw lying unused on floor* Hehe, this thing needs lubrication, and I know just what to lubricate it with!! *picks it up and turns it on, heading towards Bklva*  
  
Bklva: *screams in terror* *continues anouncement in a rushed voice similar to that of the MicroMachines guy, while running for her life* Here is -  
  
The Truth Hurts  
  
Chapter Six: Pain  
  
The evening of his doctor's visit was peaceful. Ryou made himself some tea, and enjoyed one of the creampuffs he'd gotten on his way home in anticipation of his father's return. He thought over his conversation with the therapist. He felt surprisingly open today. He'd been able to talk about the dreams, about his life... about how hurt he was that his father couldn't live with him after everything else he'd gone through. He mulled over something that the therapist had said. He'd told her that sometimes he felt sad for himself. She told him that it was natural to feel bad in these types of situations, but, by the same token, everyone's life has different levels of pain and hardship, and that we were meant to deal with them in our own way. She said that our strengths were sometimes hidden, and that Ryou had the strength to endure, for which he should give himself credit. Life may sometimes surprise us with the hurt it can throw at us, and we have to choose our own survival, no matter what the odds. We have to be willing to step into the water, to get our feet wet, to risk all that we have, because the alternative was unhappiness, emptiness or death. Ryou had never thought of it that way. He felt sad and weak, even pathetic sometimes. He'd never noticed what he'd survived in life. He'd survived the death of his mother and sister, the distance in the relationship with his father, the taunting that came from being shy and different. He'd been through so much. How had he gotten through it? Well, he'd supported himself, basically, though not in the material sense. He didn't have family or friends, but he'd made his own path through what life had thrown at him. The only thing is, is survival enough? Would he get anything besides for pure life, living and breathing, walking and eating? Would he ever have friends, a family, happiness even?  
  
His thoughts turned to his father. Where was he already? It was nine thirty, and he should be home any minute. He decided to pass the rest of the time watching the tube. He went to sit in the armchair in the living-room. That chair was his dad's favorite, before he'd begun traveling for work non-stop. Once he was in it for the evening, no one could get him out. He remembered his mother sweetly tempting him with whispered words he didn't understand, and his father grumbling at her, telling her he was too comfortable to get up. Ryou now sank into the depths of the soft chair, tilting it back and turning on the tv. He was only slightly interested in the sitcom going on before him, and he didn't notice himself falling asleep.  
  
He woke up suddenly, noticing the gray light coming in from the slatted shades in the window. What time was it? He looked up at the clock; it was five a.m. The early morning news was being presented on the screen, the banter of the news anchors a soft background noise. Ryou got up, straightening the crick in his back from sleeping in a chair, and went to make himself some coffee. He didn't think that he would fall back asleep again anyway. Something was bugging him in the back of his mind. What did he forget? He tried to recall it as he poured the hot liquid into a mug and went back to sit in the chair. Before he got a chance to sit though, something on the television screen caught his eye. He began to bring the cup to his lips and stopped midway, frozen. As he watched the drama unfold on the screen before him, his stomach caught in a knot. He remembered what was bugging him. Two thoughts simultaneously entered his mind. 'Where the hell is my father?' and 'No...'   
  
The program was switching between aerial shots and a reporter, showing a smoking wreck. Upon closer inspection, Ryou realised that the mass of white metal was the remains of an airplane, and scrolling below were the words, 'Flight 252, Egypt Air, crashed early this morning, no survivors'. Ryou barely registered the crash of his coffee mug at his feet, the brown liquid seeping through the pieces of ceramic, slowly spreading over the floor. He fell to his knees, the pieces of mug digging into them, the coffee soaking into his jeans. His hand went over his heart, grasping uselessly at his t-shirt, as he shook his head and numbly repeated the word 'no' to himself. It seemed like hours, he sat there, just staring ahead at the television, his mind unable to penetrate the logic needed to understand what had just happened to his life. At some point the phone rang, and Ryou somehow got up to answer it, perhaps somewhere in his subconsious, hoping that this was just a dream, and that this was his wake up call. The voice at the other end asked if it could speak to Bakura Ryou. He quietly answered, and then he was officially informed that his father had been on Flight 252 which had crashed some short time ago and that he didn't survive and that Egypt Air was very sorry for his loss and was there anything they could do to help? Ryou just let the receiver drop from his hand, and suddenly found he couldn't breath. He grabbed for the sofa, struggling to get air into his lungs, wheezing. As the oxygen came, so did the realization, the acceptance. Ryou, alone in his house, an orphan with no family, began to scream. " 'Tou-san!" (Father) he yelled, curling his fists tightly at his side, "How could you do this to me? How could you leave me alone?" He heard his own voice echo in the empty rooms, and then started to pound on that sofa, to hit it as though, if he did it hard enough, his father would come out and say, "I'm sorry, I'm here. There, there, everything's okay now." He kept hitting the detested couch, until he was breathing heavily, and his heart was beating at a marathon rate. As he slowed down, the tears began to come out of thier own accord, slowly and consistently, as Ryou got back into that armchair, curling up on himself and rocking back and forth.  
  
Ryou stayed in that chair for many days afterward, getting up only to use the bathroom. He alternately cried and yelled, ignoring the phone calls he was receiving, ignoring the t-shirt sticking to his sweaty skin, ignoring the grease building up in his downy locks, ignoring the dark circles under his eyes, and the emptiness of his stomach. About a week after the horrible incident, ignoring phone calls as usual, he listened as the answering machine picked up, Egypt Air at the other end. There was a package waiting for him at the local post office. They'd tried to deliver it, but they understood his need for privacy, and he could pick it up at his convenience. His heart slightly stirred. What could be waiting for him? He supposed they must have found something of his father's. He picked himself up and decided to take a long overdue shower. Afterwards, he decided to eat some toast. It wasn't much, but after a week of no food and very little water, anything that he could get would be good. He pulled on a jacket and headed out to the post. He got there, and stood on line at the receiving window. He realized that he was nervous. His hands were even shaking a bit. As his turn came up, he thought about the fact that this would be the last thing that he would get from his father. Well, he was getting money and the house from the will, but this would be the last thing that would come from his father as a complete surprise. One thing that he'd loved was getting a souvenir from some exotic place his dad had traveled to. It made him wish that he could go with him. He found himself hoping that it wasn't just some clothes or anything mundane. He stepped up to the window, and received his package, a small box wrapped in brown paper. He decided that he would open it at home.  
  
Sitting at the kitchen table, he began to slowly, meticulously unwrap the box. He almost decided to keep it closed forever, as a reminder of his father's travels, but then he wondered if he would always be guessing what was in it. He really did want to know. As he opened it, he caught the glint of gold, and gasped when he was fully able to view the thing. It was some sort of ring shaped-gold pendant. He held it, surprisingly warm to the touch, and then noticed a note under where it lay. "Dear Ryou," it said, "please keep this as a sign of my renewed and permanent commitment to being a father and a friend. This will be the last souvenier I bring from my travels, unless it is with you." Fresh tears began to stream from Ryou's eyes, and he placed the pendant around his neck, pressing it against his chest. He missed his father so much that it hurt. He didn't just miss his father, but he also missed the possibility of his father. His dad had wanted to be closer to him, and then life had the audacity to take that away from the both of them. A few salty drops from Ryou's eyes hit the ring's surface. With his vision blurred, he didn't see them slowly absorbing into the gold. What he did see was that the ring began to glow a vibrant yellow, the pendants hanging from it jittered as though alive. Ryou held his breath; he felt as though he suddenly recognized this moment, that it existed in time before him, and that it would exist in time with him, ever after.  
  
*****************  
  
A.N. So, was it good? I can't tell from here! I hope it was, because I love writing it, and I love sharing fanfiction, reading others and posting my own. I'm sorry, Ryou. 


	7. Meetings

_A.N. Okay, I'm gonna do any author notes or aknowledgements after the chappie. Please excuse me if this looks messed up, but I'm trying to figure out how to post this in html. ( God, it's gonna be embarassing if this shows up as plain text with, like, a million html tags randomly interspersed -_-;; ) Yadonushi means parasitic landlord. This is how Bakura refers to Ryou. What I want to know is, when is he gonna pay the rent?_   
  
  


* * *

  
  


**The Truth Hurts**   
  
  
**Chapter 7: Meetings**

  
  


*~*~*~*~*

  
  


I miss you: but I haven't met you yet   
  
so special: but it hasn't happened yet   
  
you are gorgeous: but I haven't met you yet   
  
I remember: but it hasn't happened yet   
  
  
_~ Björk, "I Miss You"_

  
  


*~*~*~*~*

  
  


He felt it. He felt the presence in his mind. His mind was on fire; it was trying to expel the foreign intrusion. It was proving to be stronger than he could ever be. Then he heard it. A laugh that started out slow and quiet, a whisper in his buzzing mind. Then it grew steadily louder and harsher, until he could no longer hear anything above it, not even his own protests. His body began to tremble as he began to recall these feelings from his nightmares. 'I can't let this happen,' he thought. 'I've got to stop this. Something... _someone_, is in that ring. I can't let him get to me, can't let him get out!' He took the glowing metal in his hand-- he burned himself. It was hot. He looked at it for another moment, and, with determination, plucked it off of his chest, yelling with the increasing pain as he brought it further from himself. When he was finally able to pull it off from himself, he hurled it at the wall, and then cradled his injured hand. At this point, the laughter started up again, accompanied by a voice. 

"Yadonushi... you can't get rid of me that easily!" More eerie laughter. "We're meant to be together; there's nothing you can do about it." 

Ryou stared at the space above the floor where the ring lay. "No, please," he cried, sure that it didn't matter, but somehow, stalling for time. He saw the ring begin to raise off of the floor, and to his dismay, the faint outline of a hand wrapped around it began to solidify in the air. "Please, leave me," he cried, voice thick with unshed sobs. "Please, I've been through enough, Bakura-sama--" He stopped, shocked at himself. How did he know _his_ name. Apparently, _he_ was wondering the same thing. 

"Where did you learn my name, boy?" the voice demanded. There was now the faint outline of a person, and it was heading towards him. Ryou began backing up from the table, moving backwards until he hit the wall, had no where to go. The figure wouldn't stop advancing. Ryou's breathing became quick and shallow, and he was begining to sweat under the warmth of his sweater. His panic was almost palpable. "That's right, boy, you have everything to be afraid of..." the spirit trailed off, laughing. He finally stopped advancing, stopping a few inches from the shuddering child. There was still no more visible of his form than a ghostly shadow. 

Ryou could feel breath on his face. He closed his eyes, not knowing what to do, what to expect. "Please, Bakura-sama--" He stopped himself again. Ryou felt the presence slam his palms down on the wall to either side of him, trapping him there. He took in an uneven breath, confused at the conflicting feelings of warmth and hate he was experiencing. 

"I asked you boy, how do you know my name? And you had better answer, because I never repeat a question a third time." Ryou was frozen. How could he answer a voice that wasn't there interrogating him about something he didn't know? He cried out as he felt a sharp sting in his left cheek. The spirit had slapped him across the face. Ryou continued to stare ahead of himself, unable to even breath. The spirit took a hold of his shoulders, slamming his back into the wall a total of three times, the third of which ended in his head hitting it. As his body slid down the wall, the last thing that he heard was "stupid fool, I'll teach you to ignore me!"   
  
  


*~*~*~*~*

  


Ryou awoke with his body half falling off of his couch. He didn't remember getting himself there, but he did remember the reason that his head throbbed uncontrollably. He glanced at the clock; it was a two full hours after he'd returned from the post office. He glanced down at his chest, and stared incredulously at the pendant hanging there. What had happened after he'd thrown it off? Had the spirit put it on him and dragged him to where he was now? He decided not to think too much. Perhaps the spirit wasn't yet aware that he was awake. He knew he had to get out of the house, so he quietly got up and got his keys and jacket, and crept through his front door. He breathed with relief after he had gotten out. He had some money in his jacket, and he somehow lead himself to the train station. He wasn't sure what he was doing there, but since he'd bothered to make the trip, he checked out the map. All of a sudden, something struck his eye. Domino. Domino City. He'd been many places in Japan, but so far, had never managed to visit there. If so, why was the name so sharply familiar to him. Deciding with a defeated laugh that he had nothing to lose, he went up on the platform to wait for the next train heading there. While he stood, watching his breath fog up in front of him, he tried to seriously recall where he had learned the spirit's name. Well, for one thing, the spirit's name was _his_ last name. Without the pressure of an unbelievably tactile shadow breathing down his neck, he was able to recall a bit more. It was strange, but... the day that his father had died, he was going to the therapist to discuss something-- that was it! He'd had some sort of dreams that night, actually, for more than one night, about a spirit. He couldn't remember the details, but his name was Bakura. In the dreams, he'd been taunting him with impossible love and anger. The intensity was mind staggering, just like the treatment he'd received a few hours ago. It was as if he'd been caught up in a whirlwind of emotion, pulled along for the ride. 

The train began to slow, and the conductor called out the next stop. They were arriving in Domino. Ryou pushed himself out along with the rest of the crowd exiting the train, and headed down the stairs onto the unfamiliar streets. He walked about for an hour or so, enjoying the sight of people walking around the neat little streets. The town was rather quaint, and Ryou was glad that one of his first outings in a long time was to a nice place like this. But he had the subtle impression that it really wasn't all that new to himself. He stopped into a burger shop to get himself a sandwich. In the back of his mind, he knew that it was good he was getting his appetite back. Rather than concentrate on this, he had a strange feeling that a young brunette with blue eyes should be there. An- Anz-, well, some sort of name was coming to him, but it wouldn't pull through. He finished up his meal and decided to keep walking. He wound his way down the city blocks, following some sort of set path. Soon, he ended up in front of some sort of card store. What was it about this place? Everything seemed vaguely familiar. He went up to the door. As he began to push it open, he saw that there was someone behind the counter. His eyes widened as he got close enough to see who it was. "May I help you?" the young boy standing in front of him asked. Ryou stared. 

"Yu- Yugi?" Ryou stuttered. Why did he think that he knew this kids name? 

The youth stared at him, raising his brows. "Do I know you?" 

"No, but..." Ryou hesitated, "I think that I know you." He felt a presence stir in his mind.   
  


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_A.N._ Alright!! I didn't think I was gonna update this for a long time, but now I gotta give credit to my authorly skills: Go me!! ^^;; I think I even have a bit planned for the next chappie, which is a good sign! It's pretty late now, so I won't be able to do personal thank you's, but I do want to take the time out to thank my reviewers for sticking by me and inspiring me to care about this story! I couldn't do it without you guys!! Huggles and Kisses for all!! Please tell me, was the chapter too short or too rushed? If it was, where was it? Don't hesitate to tell me what you feel, ( including what you _did_ like about it ) It would really help me be more objective about my writing! Oyasumi nasai! 


	8. Redundant

_A.N. Gomen Nasai Gomen Nasai Gomen Nasai!!! does impression of Ryou after he set off the boulder in that cave in Duelist Kingdom You'd never think that Ryou would be one-a-those that they would use for comic relief O.o Anyway, I'm getting off topic here. I'm So Sorry!! I'd had such a hard time coming up with this chapter, that it took me this long to write it! Not because I was busy or anything, but I was scared of it -- It may take me a while again before I get the next chapter posted up. I don't want to make promises that I can't keep. Since it's been quite a while since I've posted, most of you probably already forgot what the hell this story is about. Hell, I probably forgot! notices readers coming at her with sharp objects Just kidding!!! waves hand innocently in front of herself Here is a brief summary:_

_Bakura and Ryou seem to have a beautiful relationship, yet he and his Yami are having some sort of weirdly despairing feelings. Lo and behold, it's all just a dream! Bakura is a vengeful, spiteful monster of a man, who uses Ryou only to get what he wants. Wait a second, that's not right... oh, it was another dream! Okay, now Ryou really wakes up, and has to live with the earth-shattering reality that the only person he really loved (his dad) has died, trying to get home to him, to tell him that he'd quit his job, and wants to stay local. His father left him a gift, though, a very strange object indeed. As soon as Ryou touched this ring, all of the dreams and nightmares all rolled into one, seeming real somehow, but then, it happened. The being of his dreams came to him, and it wasn't a very good meeting! When the spirit was asleep, Ryou decided that getting out of the house was top priority, and stumbled onto the humble little town of Domino, where things seem strangely familiar..._

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**The Truth Hurts**   
  
**Chapter 8: Redundant**

  


  
  
"Excuse me?" Yugi asked, eyebrows raised in question.

"My name is Ryou. Is there somewhere we can talk?" He waited impatiently for an answer. He couldn't tell if the other boy could see, but he was getting more and more nervous, as he felt the spirit inside gaining conciousness again.

Yugi seemed to think for a moment, and then called out. "Jii-chan (Grandpa), can you mind the store for a few minutes?" He looked towards the stairs, and waited until he heard a grumpy voice.

"Yugi, I'm supposed to rest today! Do you want an old man to die of exhaustion?" he called.

Yugi let out an exasperated sigh. "But Jii-chan, one of my friends is here to talk to me!"

Ryou looked at Yugi with mild confusion. One of his friends? Then, he realized, he probably just needed an excuse to get the stubborn old man downstairs.

He soon heard quick, stumbling footsteps, and an old codger popped out from the stairwell, panting as if out of breath. "Is it Anzu-chan? Did she come over today?" He searched the store, and his excited expression faded when he set his eyes on Ryou. "Is it this young man?"

"Jii-chan, this is Ryou. We need to go out for a bit." Without waiting for an answer, he waved his head towards the door, beckoning Ryou to follow. As they left, Ryou swore he could hear the grandfather grumbling something about 'cute little Anzu-chan', and had to stifle a laugh.

They walked until they reached a medium size cafe, and Yugi led him to a table in an unoccupied corner of the eatery.

"So, Ryou, you look very distressed. Where do I know you from?" Yugi trained himself on Ryou's face, wide eyes seemingly taking in every detail of the boy.

Ryou knew that he had to approach this carefully. How could he tell someone, who is basically a stranger, that he had dreams about him and spirits who live in the both of them, and that he also believes that those dreams are reality, since he's already seen his own spirit? He would seem insane. Plus, the presence within him was begining to push for control of his mind, so he didn't have too much time.

It was quiet for a minute, and Yugi took the lead. "Did you meet me at a tournament or something? Or maybe at school..."

Ryou decided that he needed to cut to the chase now, because his concentration was begining to be divided. "Listen," he interjected, "I'm going to have to tell you something that's gonna sound insane... but, no matter how embarrasing this will be, I need to speak to you, I need to tell you-"

"You have a spirit." Yugi said this matter-of-factly, as if it was everyday people talked about things like this.

Ryou's eyes widened, unbelieving that the boy could know that before he told him. His heart beat erratically, all of a sudden, and subconciously, he realized he was afraid of the boy, not the boy, but something in him, something about his eyes... could he be hurt by him? "How do you know?" He was feeling defensive, and the question came out curtly.

Yugi's eyes seemed to soften. "Ryou, you've had dreams." Another simple statement. What was this kid, reading his mind? Ryou didn't want to seem redundant, so he waited for Yugi to explain further. "I've had them, too." Ryou's nerves tingled. As long as he was in a public space, as long as he was telling some insane story to a stranger, the whole thing could have been some sort of stressful halucination brought about by his father's death. After Yugi's one simple statement, he felt as if a bomb had been dropped on his chest. He began to hyperventilate; tried to suck in as much life-giving oxygen as he could.

"Relax, please. You'll hurt yourself!" It didn't work. Yugi watched as Ryou's head hit the table, in a dead faint.

Ryou couldn't have known how that event would change things.

In a few moments, he began to awaken. He looked around himself, confused. "What happened to me?" he asked the young boy sitting across from him.

The young man just smiled, and said, "You seem to have overstressed yourself. Why don't I take you home, so that you can rest for a while?"

Wordlessly, he nodded.

Yugi got up first, and supported him under his arms. "Come on," he said, pulling the boy up. "You know what? Why don't I take you to my place for now. I don't know where you live, and it's really close to here.

"Thanks." He smiled weakly. With some effort, they made it out of the restaurant, and walked the three blocks to Yugi's home. As they ascended the flight of stairs, and opened the door to Yugi's room, Yugi never saw the smirk plastered on the face of the boy behind him.

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_A.N. Yes, this is pretty short! But I think that I'm gonna get on the next chappie right away. Still, remember what I said - no promises. One important thing I do have to say is that, no matter how long it takes me, I'm 95% sure that I'm going to finish the story. More for you guys than myself. Okay, for myself, too I want to thank again every person who read this, even if you didn't write a review (I hope I didn't lose all of my reviewers --;;) I hope you enjoyed this chappie._

_Ciao!_


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